As in other Mediterranean countries, olive oil is a staple ingredient in the Turkish diet. The country is one of the world's top five producers of olives and dishes cooked in olive oil (zeytinyağlı) often have their own section on the menu. So, especially in a popular tourist area with many restaurants, a Turkish town is going to go through a lot of oil--and that in turn can cause a host of problems for local waterways.Improperly disposed waste oil can block sewer pipes, and, if released into streams or oceans, contaminate exponentially larger amounts of water, hindering its oxygenation.